Bar mitts are probably the ugliest things going but in terms of practical warmth in cold climates they are great.
But if you ever get caught out in cold conditions without them you can make a pair out of old padded envelopes A4 or bigger.
The ones with cotton filling are good but messy if they tear.
The Bubble wrap type are cleaner and easier to work with but usually a bit more flimsy.
A piece of wire bent into an O shape and taped into the entrance will give you an easy opening to get your hands in and out.

Comment. Cotton + water = cold.


2 litre milk bottles can be made into them ... free from various bins. No insulation, but gets the water + wind off your gloves. Dry gloves should provide the insulation?

Obviously it depends on the bike but I've always used 5L plastic containers for this. They're a bit bigger so you can get your hands in a pocket of still air and still get to all the switches, levers etc.

4 liter container zip tied to the hand guards. Make HUGE difference. Stopping wind is the by far most important thing when cold.

I found these on sale for $10 ... regular price is about $17 usd. Pretty much universal fit ... adjustable using soft metal bands and velcro fasteners. Once set up my gloved hands fit easily into them. Big improvement in rain and cold.

Easier to rig up than old milk cartons ... and they stay put once set up. Sorry, no pics, I took mine off for Summer but they are going back on SOON! Will post up pics once I get them back on my DR650. My bike has Bark Busters and these Tusk covers still fit on. Not bad ... wait for a sale, not a bad deal.




Tusk Hand Mitts | ATV | Rocky Mountain ATV/MC

They're pretty much exactly the ones I've got and they very nearly didn't survive their first trip. Riding back through France in a day long rainstorm they filled up with water to the point where my gloves were sitting in a puddle and my hands were freezing cold. Even tipping the water out periodically didn't help as the fur lining was still saturated. When I got back I just threw them in the corner of the garage and left them for about a year

I now use them on another bike with numerous holes cut for drainage, fastening in position with cable ties etc and modified they're just about ok. To give them a fighting chance I extended the screen on the bike sideways to keep off the full force of the rain and like that they coped well with a week of rain on the autobahn going to the Elephant Rally earlier in the year. There are better designs around but they do have the advantage of being cheap.

This winter I've been very tempted to try an alternative to the 5L containers that I saw on line somewhere - a pair of wellington boots with the toes cut off. The bars go in through the hole in the toe and you put your arms in where your legs would normally go. Just got to see if there's anything suitably priced in my local charity shops over Xmas.

Good point about the rain, I never used mine in rain because it never rains in California!

Certainly, for serious full rain coverage, some sort of sealed Polar mit would be a better deal. Mine worked OK in cold weather, riding over Sierra in 20F (snow in passes, but no rain). In rain? Hands are getting wet eventually. NOT GOOD!

Maybe something like this is better?
Motorcycle Hippo Hands, Handlebar Muffs

You're right, a lot of products like the Tusk items would let in rain, if heavy or if stopped or going slow in traffic.


Pic courtesy of Chris Keller/Hippo Hands UK

Givi TM418 Hand Mitts - Motorcycle Superstore

As a "Bodger Fix" a couple trash bags over gloves or mits might help?
sloppy and troublesome yes ... but might keep gloves and digits dry for a while?

Now this I have to see .
According to Billy Connolly :-

" if it was'nee for your wellies ,where would y' be ? "

[ you'd be in the hospital or infirmary ]

make sure you don't get a smelly pair from the charity shop .

Now would BMW riders insist on upmarket green wellies ?
Have Touratech been informed ?
These are questions that need to be answered .

__________________
Blessed are the cracked, for they let in the light. - Spike Milligan
"When you come to a fork in the road ,take it ! When you come to a spoon in the road ,take that also ."

Hippo hands work well and last long. Cheap stuff doesn't--one or the other or both. I use in rain, snow, cold, whatever.

Cut up 2-smoke bottles lasted three elefant rallies and couple of trips on the back roads in Finland.


https://picasaweb.google.com/1044429...33247871280498

Cost zero (my MZ used the contents), function 9/10.

The trick is never to cut across a mould line, follow the curves they use to strengthen the flat surfaces.

Muffs, hippo hands etc. are good over hand guards but can be lethal if they fold back onto the glove. I've seen a BMW with suspected clutch problems related to muffs holding the lever off and a mate lost a glove in Norway when taking his hands off the bars and finding the muff had grabbed then dropped it. Take care when fitting.

Cut up wellies have a certain style though. Personally I'd either go for red ones with ladybirds on or the full issue external steel toe-cap sort.

Andy